May 15, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Five Patriot League student-athletes were recognized on the 2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region Teams. Four Patriot League players were named to the Mid-Atlantic team, including three from Lehigh and one from Lafayette. Also recognized was one student-athlete from Army, who was placed on the Northeast unit.

Lehigh senior Lisa Sweeney was named All-Region for the fourth time in her career. She is the third Patriot League player to receive the honor four times, joining Army's Nicki Robbins (1999-2002) and Colgate's Dorothy Donaldson (2002-2005). Sweeney, who has also been named Patriot League Player of the Year once, is the most decorated pitcher in Patriot League history. She received her fourth Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honor after becoming the 25th player to be selected to the All-Patriot League Team in four consecutive seasons and the first since 2006. She is the seventh player in Patriot League history to receive First-Team All-Patriot League honors in four straight years. She is also the second player in the history of the League to be named to the All-Patriot League Team five times, joining Colgate's Tara McGroff. Sweeney was named to the All-League team as a pitcher and an outfielder in 2008. In Patriot League play this season, Sweeney was 11-1 with a 1.18 ERA. She struck out 88 batters while limiting foes to a .182 batting average. She led the Patriot League in wins, ERA, opposing batting average and strikeouts. For the year, she is 22-8 with a 2.04 ERA and 230 strikeouts. She was also named Patriot League Tournament MVP for the third time in her career.

Sweeney is joined on the Mid-Atlantic squad by teammates Julie Fernandez and Alisha Gonzales. Fernandez became the second player from Lehigh to be named Patriot League Rookie of the Year, joining current Lehigh staff member Kate Marvel, who won in 2005. The first baseman led the Patriot League with a .407 batting average during the regular season. During League play, she batted .400 with 10 RBI. She was named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection. Gonzales was selected to the Patriot League Tournament Team, as well as the All-Patriot League Team. She was named to the First Team as a designated player after batting .432 with three home runs and 16 RBI in Patriot League action. For the season, she is batting .348 with four home runs and 28 RBI.

Also named to the Mid-Atlantic team was Lafayette shortstop Christina Giambrone, the 2009 Patriot League Player of the Year. The junior has been named to the All-Patriot League Team three times in her career. She led the Patriot League with 14 home runs and an .832 slugging percentage. She led the League with seven home runs in Patriot League play.

Named to the Northeast team was Army junior Erin McClain. The Black Knights' catcher batted .364 with nine extra-base hits and nine RBI in 20 Patriot League games.

The Patriot League has claimed at least one NFCA All-Region Team selection in 18 of its 19 years of sponsoring softball and has had multiple honorees in 15 seasons. In total the Patriot League has had 79 NFCA All-Region mentions.

Lehigh won the 2009 Patriot League Championship, topping fourth-seeded Lafayette in extra innings in the championship round. The Mountain Hawks continue their season this weekend at the Gainesville Regional of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Lehigh opens the tournament on Friday against Texas A&M. The double-elimination regional continues through Sunday.